TARGET Instant Payment Settlement
TIPSACTIVEOperator: Eurosystem (Banca d'Italia lead development)
Overseer: European Central Bank (ECB)
Legal basis: ECB Guideline on TARGET (ECB/2022/8)
Launched: Nov 30, 2018
4.54M daily avg (EUR, Apr 2026); 4.74M (Mar 2026); 4.16M (Feb 2026); 3.64M (Jan 2026); 2025 full-year: 2.74M daily avg EUR; 2024: 3.68M daily avg (EUR+SEK)
Daily Volume
Apr 30, 2026 · European Central Bank
€5.7B daily avg (EUR, Apr 2026); €5.7B (Mar 2026); €5.0B (Feb 2026); €4.5B (Jan 2026); 2025 full-year: €2.17B daily avg EUR; 2024: €0.9B daily avg
Daily Value
Apr 30, 2026 · European Central Bank
14,884 reachable parties; 323 DCAs, 12 ASTAs (euro); 341 total DCAs+ASTAs (EUR+SEK, Dec 2024)
Participants
Dec 31, 2024 · ECB TARGET Services Annual Report 2024
Executive Summary
TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) is the Eurosystem's platform for settling instant payments in central bank money, operating 24/7/365. Launched in November 2018, TIPS settles SCT Inst transactions individually in seconds across the SEPA area. It supports three currencies: EUR (since launch), SEK (since February 2024), and DKK (since April 2025), with NOK planned for H1 2028 (Norges Bank agreement signed November 29, 2024; NBO INST to serve as the domestic NOK instant payment service; Norway is the first non-EU EEA country to join a TARGET Service). Bulgaria (BNB) connected January 1, 2026. Iceland's Sedlabanki Islands is assessing feasibility of joining TIPS for ISK settlement (announced September 2024, assessment initially focused on TIPS before T2).
How It Works
Settlement Model
Real-Time Gross Settlement (individual transaction settlement)
Message Standard
ISO 20022 — pacs.008 (routed from CSMs or direct participants)
Max Transaction
€999,999,999.99 (per EPC 2025 SCT Inst Rulebook v1.0, effective October 5, 2025; previously €100,000)
Clearing Mechanism
Direct settlement — TIPS is itself the settlement mechanism. No separate clearing layer.
Settlement Cycle
Continuous 24/7/365 — no batch windows, no cut-off times
Message Flow
An instant payment instruction arrives at TIPS either directly from a participant or via a CSM (RT1, STEP2-T, or national systems). TIPS checks the sender's Dedicated Cash Account (DCA) for sufficient funds. If available, the sender's DCA is debited and the receiver's DCA is credited simultaneously with immediate finality. The entire process targets under 10 seconds end-to-end. Liquidity is managed by transferring funds between the DCA and the participant's Main Cash Account in T2.
Typical Use Cases
Settlement of SEPA Instant Credit Transfers, multi-currency instant settlement (EUR, SEK, DKK), future cross-border instant payment corridors
Key Data
Daily Volume
4.54M daily avg (EUR, Apr 2026); 4.74M (Mar 2026); 4.16M (Feb 2026); 3.64M (Jan 2026); 2025 full-year: 2.74M daily avg EUR; 2024: 3.68M daily avg (EUR+SEK)
As of Apr 30, 2026 · European Central Bank
Daily Value
€5.7B daily avg (EUR, Apr 2026); €5.7B (Mar 2026); €5.0B (Feb 2026); €4.5B (Jan 2026); 2025 full-year: €2.17B daily avg EUR; 2024: €0.9B daily avg
As of Apr 30, 2026 · European Central Bank
Participants
14,884 reachable parties; 323 DCAs, 12 ASTAs (euro); 341 total DCAs+ASTAs (EUR+SEK, Dec 2024)
As of Dec 31, 2024 · ECB TARGET Services Annual Report 2024
Participants & Access
Membership Requirements
Credit institutions with Eurosystem counterparty status. Also accessible via instructing parties (CSMs like RT1, STEP2-T). Non-euro NCBs may join for their domestic currency.
Governance & Risk
Governance Model
Part of the TARGET platform, governed by ECB Guideline. Banca d'Italia led initial development. Multi-currency governance involves non-euro NCBs (Riksbank for SEK, Danmarks Nationalbank for DKK).
Concentration Risk
TIPS is becoming the dominant instant settlement infrastructure as the ECB promotes central bank money settlement. However, RT1 and STEP2-T provide CSM-level alternatives for clearing, maintaining some competition.
Resilience & Business Continuity
Eurosystem infrastructure with dual-site architecture. 24/7 operations centre. Target availability: 99.99%. Fallback to standard SCT if instant path fails.
Dispute Resolution
TARGET compensation scheme applies. Operational disputes follow ECB procedures.
Pricing
ECB pricing for TIPS is designed to encourage adoption of central bank money settlement for instant payments.
Transaction fee: €0.002 per transaction
Source: European Central Bank
Connectivity
settles
SEPA Inst
TIPS settles SCT Inst transactions in central bank money
liquidity from
T2 / TARGET
Dedicated Cash Accounts funded from T2 Main Cash Accounts
interlinks with
RT1
RT1 routes transactions to TIPS for central bank money settlement
settles
RIX-INST
TIPS settles Swedish instant payments (SEK) via RIX-INST
Peer Comparison
TIPS is unique as a multi-currency instant settlement system in central bank money. FedNow settles in Fed funds (central bank money) but is USD-only. UK Faster Payments settles in commercial bank money via prefunding. TIPS's €0.002 per-transaction pricing significantly undercuts private CSMs.
Compare in detail →Regulatory Framework
185dDec 31, 2026
Digital euro preparation phase
ECB preparation phase for digital euro with concrete pilot timeline disclosed March 2026. Regulation proposed June 2023, awaiting European Parliament and Council adoption. Pilot launch planned H2 2027 on TIPS infrastructure, with potential first issuance by 2029. Pontes DLT wholesale settlement launching Q3 2026.
Intelligence (134)
AnalysisJun 29, 2026
Wero E-Commerce Live in Three Markets Six Months After German Debut
France became the third country to offer Wero online payments when Groupe BPCE completed the first transactions in April 2026, following Germany's November 2025 debut and Belgium's March 2026 launch. ING Germany reports a 15 percent activation rate among current account holders as merchant adoption expands across all three markets.
NewsJun 27, 2026
Austrian Banks Become EPI Shareholders as Wero Surpasses 55 Million Users
EPI's ownership group grows to 18 European institutions after Erste Bank Oesterreich and Raiffeisen commit to the pan-European payment initiative, extending Wero's geographic reach to Austria as its sixth country.
AnalysisJun 26, 2026
Malaysia's RENTAS+ Settles RM73.6 Trillion Annually as First ASEAN RTGS with 24/7 Operations
RENTAS+ serves 69 participants comprising commercial banks, Islamic banks, investment banks, and development financial institutions.
AnalysisJun 26, 2026
Iceland's CBI RTGS Handles High-Value ISK Settlement as Instant Payments Absorb Retail Volume
Iceland signed a TIPS participation agreement in 2025. The agreement adds the Icelandic krona as the fifth currency on the Eurosystem's instant payment settlement platform from 2028.
NewsJun 25, 2026
SWIFT Ends IPLA and SIL Support on June 30, Affecting T2 and CHAPS Connectivity
Red Hat's decision to end support for Fuse, the open-source integration framework underpinning SIL, is the primary trigger. IPLA and SIL cannot fully support ISO 20022's structured data requirements that T2, CHAPS, and TIPS now mandate.
NewsJun 25, 2026
Iceland Signs TIPS Agreement, Adding ISK as Fifth Currency from 2028
Iceland's central bank committed to joining the Eurosystem's instant payment settlement platform after nearly two years of assessment. The Icelandic krona will be the fifth currency to settle through TIPS when it goes live in 2028, alongside planned Norwegian krone onboarding the same year.
RegulationJun 24, 2026
EU Parliament Committee Approves Digital Euro Framework 43-14
The ECON Committee's 43-14 vote clears the digital euro regulation for trilogue negotiations, advancing the ECB's timeline toward a 2029 public launch with offline privacy protections and per-user holding limits designed to shield commercial bank deposits.
NewsJun 24, 2026
Erste Bank and Raiffeisen Take EPI Stakes to Bring Wero to Austria
Austria's two largest banking groups have become EPI shareholders, expanding the consortium to 18 backers and positioning Wero for entry into a market of nine million retail customers.
NewsJun 17, 2026
TIPS Cross-Currency Service Goes Live for EUR, DKK, and SEK Instant Settlements
The technical infrastructure was deployed in October 2025 and underwent testing before the formal activation. Payment service providers already participating in TIPS, TIPS-DKK, or RIX-INST can access the service through their national central bank.
NewsJun 16, 2026
BoursoBank Joins Wero, Bringing 8.9 Million French Customers Into European Payment Network
BoursoBank will become the first French bank to offer Wero to customers aged 10 to 17. At Q1 2026, 88 percent of transfers initiated by BoursoBank customers were already instant.
Reference Documents (2)
TARGET Operating Schedule
ECB · operating_schedule · v2026 · Jan 1, 2026
CBPR+ Roadmap Beyond November 2025
SWIFT · regulatory_text · vSeptember 2025 · Nov 15, 2026
SEPA Credit TransferSCT
European Payments Council (EPC)
SEPA Direct Debit CoreSDD Core
European Payments Council (EPC)
SEPA Direct Debit Business-to-BusinessSDD B2B
European Payments Council (EPC)
SEPA Instant Credit TransferSCT Inst
European Payments Council (EPC)
TARGET Ecosystem OverviewTARGET
Eurosystem (4CB platform: Deutsche Bundesbank, Banque de France, Banca d'Italia, Banco de España)
T2 (TARGET RTGS)T2
Eurosystem (4CB platform: Deutsche Bundesbank, Banque de France, Banca d'Italia, Banco de España)
TARGET2-SecuritiesT2S
Eurosystem (4CB platform)
Eurosystem Collateral Management SystemECMS
Eurosystem (Banque de France lead development)
UK Payment InfrastructureUK Payments
Pay.UK (scheme management), Bank of England (RTGS), VocaLink/Mastercard (processing)